The two medical students accused of mocking a transplant patient have posted an apology video amid an investigation for slander.
Gabrielli Farias de Souza and Thaís Caldeiras Soares Foffano shared a video on TikTok discussing the three heart transplants that 26-year-old Vitória Chaves da Silva had undergone at the Heart Institute (InCor) in São Paulo, Brazil.
Highlights
- Gabrielli Farias de Souza and Thaís Caldeiras Soares Foffano issued an apology after facing backlash for joking about a patient's transplants.
- The medical students quipped that the patient "had nine lives" due to her multiple transplants and blamed her for her health complications.
- The patient, 26-year-old Vitória Chaves da Silva, passed away nine days after the video was posted.
The students claimed that one transplant was unsuccessful because Vitória, who passed away nine days after the video was posted, had not taken her medications correctly.
On Sunday (April 13), Gabrielli and Thaís expressed "deep regret" over their words and stated that the patient's medical history aroused "academic curiosity" in them.
Image credits: poponze
"The content disclosed was solely intended to express surprise at a clinical case mentioned in the internship environment," they said, as per GLOBO.
"The situation described, due to its rarity, aroused our academic curiosity and led to a spontaneous reflection on technical aspects that we had never studied or witnessed.
"We deeply regret that the video — recorded without any information that could allow identification — was interpreted in a way that differed from our real intention, linking it to a specific person.
"We reaffirm that there was no mockery or insensitivity. Our commitment to life, human dignity and the ethical principles of medicine remains unwavering."
Image credits: coracaoparavitoria
Without naming the patient, the students concluded the statement by expressing their solidarity with Vitória's family, "whom [they] sincerely respect," and reiterating that they "never intended to offend, expose or cause suffering."
The apology was met with mixed reactions on social media. "Now it's too late... they should have thought before making the video. Medicine is too serious a thing to be exchanged for 'likes,'" one critic wrote.
"It's obvious that this video was made at the request of the college," another said.
A third penned: "Light-colored blouse, no makeup, poor faces. The script is always the same."
The students had suggested Vitória was partly to blame for a failed transplant due to not taking her medication properly
Image credits: Vitória Chaves/Youtube
"I understand that they recognized their mistake and are sorry. They are young and students," stated a separate user. "They deserve understanding and forgiveness."
"They made a mistake! They regretted it! They apologized! Let's move on," exclaimed someone else.
Gabrielli and Thaís' statement follows a video that showed them discussing their patient's medical record, which included three heart transplants and a kidney transplant.
"A heart transplant is already bureaucratic, it is rare, there is the issue of the waiting list, compatibility, a thousand issues involved… Now, a person undergoing a transplant three times, this is real, and it happened here at Incor, and this patient is hospitalized here," said Thaís in the clip.
"The second time she had the transplant, she didn't take the medicine she needed to take; her body kind of rejected it, and she had to have the transplant again because of her mistake," commented Gabrielli.
"Does this girl think she has nine lives? I don't know," Thaís joked.
The women claimed that their comments were based on academic curiosity and they "never intended to offend, expose, or cause suffering"
Image credits: Metrópoles/Youtube
Then, Thaís said she was in "shock" over the case. "This person has undergone three heart transplants, and she's still experiencing health issues."
Vitória was born with Ebstein's Anomaly, a rare heart defect that affects the function of the tricuspid valve, one of the heart's four valves.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, only one in every 200,000 people are born with Ebstein's Anomaly. This means that it accounts for less than 1% of all congenital heart defects.
Image credits: coracaoparavitoria
Vitória's sister, Giovana, said Vitória suffered from Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after the second transplant, a complication where donated cells view the recipient's body's cells as a threat and attack them.
The young woman passed away on February 28 from septic shock and chronic kidney failure.
"Does this girl think she has nine lives?" said one of the students in the original video, referencing the patient's three heart transplants
Image credits: poponze
Vitória's mother, Cláudia, disputed the students' claims that her late daughter did not take her medication correctly.
"What they say is untrue, and we have proof of everything, that she [Vitória] followed the treatment.
"We always followed Vitória. We knew how much she fought to live. So much so that we have a lot of documents at the prosecutor's office asking for help with medication with a ticket to come for treatment.
"She never missed a single appointment. And my daughter was thirsty for life. All she wanted was to live. Then someone comes along and belittles her story, I don't accept it, I want justice."
In their apology video, they stated that their previous video didn't include any identifiable patient information
Image credits: Metrópoles/Youtube
The Civil Police have reportedly opened an investigation for slander. Delegate Marco Antônio Bernardo, head of the 14th Police District, stated: "First, a non-criminal report was filed since the video does not mention Vitória's name and no crime was committed.
"The mother came again, we heard her and, then, as she was feeling offended by the published content regarding her daughter, feeling defamed by the information disclosed, we opened an investigation for injury in a private criminal action."
"I definitely want this criminal complaint to be filed," Cláudia told Metrópoles, adding that she hired a lawyer, Eduardo Lemos Barbosa, last Thursday (April 10).
"Vitória's fight was discredited because of the video, which is a lie. The statements [made by the students] do not reflect her [Vitória's] life, nor the medical reality she faces," said the attorney.
"The video is derogatory."
The video caused public outrage, as Vitória passed away just nine days after it was posted
Image credits: Vitória Chaves/Youtube
The Faculty of Medicine of the University of São Paulo (FMUSP) and InCor, which is under its responsibility, condemned the students' behavior and stated that they "currently do not have any academic ties" with them.
The medical students were in the hospital due to a one-month extension course.
The colleges where they study issued a joint statement, claiming they had adopted, "with utmost urgency," the appropriate measures to investigate the case.
Image credits: Metrópoles
In addition to studying to become a doctor, Gabrielli, aged 23, is a businesswoman. According to local media, she wrote on her LinkedIn page that "in the distant future," she would like to become "a renowned lawyer," explaining that her focus would be on "law in general and individual and justice."
Thaís, aged 26, is reportedly in the 9th semester of medical school. Prior to that, she worked as an assistant in a development and construction company and, in 2018, as a saleswoman in a bookstore.
Delegate Bernardo said the women will be summoned to give statements at the police station in the coming days.
One user suggested that the apology sounded like the students were trying to justify themselves
